We are Mariners, heart and soul, but there is much more to us than that :)

Early Smmer :)

Dean 83 ! a record breaker03/21/2012, Petoskey Mi.

Meet Mr. Pitman, Chrissy's new puppy.

We got a new boat dog, and so far he is a big hit !! Let the fun work begin :)

I have got the syrup all made and the equip. is put away and ready for next season.

I can start to concentrate on getting the Big Boat home. I have made a few calls to the local marinas but most won't do a long haul (90 miles), so I am digging a little deeper. I still need to talk to the seller and see if he will haul it for me,, he has the truck and trailer that can do it.

This early hot wheather has the garden moving up the list too. Raking and mowing and weeding and all that crap is climbing the list too.

I would much rather be worried about getting some fresh bait and riding my bike to the beer store, but those days are on hold for a few years :)

Not much going on with the big wood boat, other than some research and logistics of having it hauled home. The other things I've been thinking about are, really what to do with it. I don't really plan on putting a bunch of money into it right away, getting it home will be several hundred at least, plus I need to buy some stands too. I am hoping I can get it in the yard for about 500 but I haven't made any calls yet. Then working on it, as much for free that needs to be done (put back together) and chip away at it for a few years, If it really warrants a " restoration" or if I should just "remodel" it to our liking, $$$$$

Option 2, put a couple hundred into bottom paint and caulk, have it hauled and launched right in Traverse City and bringing it up by water, obviously costing several hundred there too, then mostly anchoring, docking sometimes and then a haul out in the fall. I think that would be about $5,000. for the summer. Then what, haul out, to where, home? pay for storage in a yard? shrink wrap etc.

I am thinking the 5-6 year plan at home and spending that much on the boat itself, instead of all overhead and costs. That would make me 59, and by then we would be ready to FINISH THE GREAT LOOP!! Going down the Mississippi to the Gulf and on to the Okachobee (sp) waterway across to the Atlantic side and up to Daytona. Completing the other 2300 miles of the Great Loop.

BUT, hey, this is all pure speculation :) Maybe we will go this year ? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA but what about the garden, and I will need another 80 bottles of wine first, working on that too :)

All in All, we are just anxious to get it uncovered and home, so the fun can start. Oh yeah, we still need to finish emptying out the Rubaiyat of the household goods that were loaded aboard, I want to get her back to the status of a vacation vessel.

Option 3, fix er up, sell the Rubaiyat and the big wood boat and buy the perfect boat with trailer.............................

Ah-ha! Now you've got her, what to do with her?
I'm sure whatever you decide to do it will be fun! Hugs to you all. We're still wasting away here in KY.
cc

Chrissy and Mom got to see it !!

Capt. Dean 50 on Jan. 10th.01/12/2012

I took Chrissy and Mom to see the boat a couple days ago and they loved it !!! We loaded up the van, Chrissy, Mom, Mark, Vi, and Christopher, oh yeah and the extension ladder :) and we were off. It was a beautiful 50 degree day, Jan. 10th. if you could believe it. Mom had no trouble getting up the ladder and into the boat, I think she was kind of determined !! :) Chrissy was sooo happy, I haven't seen her like that in awhile, she said it didn't look like the cruiz ship that it did in the video.

We all went up and in, mingled around and looked a little closer at everything. I pulled up floor and wall panels where I could and looked at the hull with a flashlight, gladly nothing jumped out at me, no rot or mold or nasty looking areas. I spritzed up the place some just by putting stuff in drawers and closets that were laying around, cushions, canvas and such. I laid down in the V birth and found alot of room in those bunks.

We came to the conclusion that a bucket of soapy water and some Fantastic will have her looking her old self again in no time. We have no intentions of dumping alot of money into her in a hurry, we will concentrate on what is there, do some research on her, then decide if we want to "remodel" or "restore" her. You all know how I am.......cheap or free..and we have the time and the people in the right places to search and find boat surplus stuff or new if warranted.

I have been on the web looking for Owens Yachts history, I have found some info, but at this point I don't think there are many 63's out there, or at least not on the internet. I think I will join the Owens owners club, for 35 bucks I will see what happens.

More to follow, so just keep checking in.

Capt. Dean

ps. oh yeah, I had this idea to stir up the community this spring.......the big wood boat will be parked on one side of the house, with a sign that says "hers" on it...... on the other side of the house will be Rubaiyat parked with a sign that says "his".......then a sign on the house.." For Sale" ....................:) :) that should get em talking :)

Just found your updated blog. So glad you are finding everything looking good on the new yacht! What are you going to call her besides "Hers?"
We're in Key West for a couple of weeks. Can't believe the warm winter up north. Next year we'll stay home and it will probably be the coldest ever.
Stay warm and enjoy your new project.
Hugs to all,
T&C

And a New Adventure Starts

Capt. Dean cold in petoskey12/28/2011

This one I just bought on E-bay, you won't believe the price!! She is a 1963 Owens Tahitian 40' double cabin cruizer.
It is still sinking in that she is ours, more to follow,
Capt. Dean

I put some more pics in the photo gallery,

I have a new video on you tube with the interior, you can just google blowing anddrifting or just go to my you tube channel.

Boat looks solid. Good Builder. I'm sure you will do a great job of making it sea worthy soon. Randy

12/30/2011 | Randy & Dawn Ortiz

I'm sure you will have it seaworth as Rubaiyat soon

I guess we are calling the adventure over :)

Capt. Dean sunny and nice08/15/2011

Our homeport of Petoskey

Wow !! What a summer so far !! I will start out by apologising for not blogging for a few weeks, I kind of got burned out on it I guess.
We have had a great time aboard since I got the repairs made. I took a mid week trip to Lake Charlevoix with a couple friends, while Chris was gone to Florida for a week to be with her sister during surgery. The surgery went well, and she had a good time with her sisters. On our little trip we spent a night in Boyne City and then went to East Jordan for a night.

We did get over to Beaver Island last weekend, it was a nice trip too, we motored most of the way over and back, but I will take that over 5-8 footers and spray :)
You can go to my You Tube channel to see a short video of the Bay on our way over.

The trip to Beaver gave us time to talk about the rest of the summer. We are hauling Rubaiyat out this week, and getting her back home for her winter rest. We are going to get the Boarding and Grooming business back up and running. The garden is putting out some fresh veggies, the sweet corn is in the freezer along with an entire beef, the freezer is looking good :)

So all is well here in P town, I will be getting back into the swing of video and stuff soon. I also plan to put together a movie from all the videos and the blog. It will take awhile though, so don't get your hopes up too soon.

We don't believe it; Rubaiyat home for the winter? That's worse than the stock market going to poop!
How can we possibly continue without our trusted comrads???????
Call us!
Hugs,
T&C

Rubaiyat is back together again :)

Capt. Dean sunny and hot in P town07/22/2011, Petoskey

I got Her fixed :)

Part of cutting the lines and heading out on a trip like this one is knowing your ship. I have never worked on a diesel engine, but, I have worked on alot of gas engines. I was able to install the new alternator bracket with the help of my friend Lew. Rubaiyat is back to her old self after about a 200 dollar ordeal.......the difference between adventure and ordeal is ATTITUDE !!!

Whe was down for about a week in all really.. a few days when I didn't go work on her, but wow, a week seemed like a month with all the other stuff that had to be done around the "house" really? I hate my mow, I hate my weedy, I hate my everything about putting gas in it to make the place look nice. I am anxious to get back down to the boat for a few days.....can you tell?

Good going! So nice to have smart friends :-).
Ahh, a weekend on the boat...we're jealous. Way too hot in Baltimore to go to the boat. It's in the 90's here! Have to admit, we're not so fond of yard work either. Found a guy who does a nice job wioth his own equipment. That makes me smile.
Have been working on the camper. Recaulking, yuk! Almost done. She's starting to show her age...a little rot needed to be taken care of. Sooo looking forward to our cruise to Alaska next month.
Stay cool.
T&C

still brokendown

Capt. Dean sunny and summer in Michigan07/16/2011

July in Petoskey, Paradise :)

Well, I had to tear it down farther before I can start putting her back together.

I got the new alternator bracket, it mounts completely different and independantly from the old one. The only thing is, I had to remove 4 exhaust manifold studs and install longer ones for the new bracket. Thanks to my friend Lew for the help. As you can guess, it got kinda messy. Drain the antifreeze, that will be another project to fill and burp the system, not to worried about it though. Pulling off the manifold ment tearing the old gaskets, luckily Irish Boat Shop had them in stock.

I hope to get back to the boat on sunday to get after the install process. Saturday (today) is the Bachelor Family Reunion over on Crooked Lake and the wheather is perfect.

I almost had the boat pulled out of the water for the summer, I thought I might have to pull the motor but now I think I can make the repair in the water and get to sail some more this summer.

Short blog this time, but as useual, more to follow :) The adventure is not over yet !!!!!

Rubaiyat had a real breakdown yesterday (fri.7th,), it went something like this:

We planned to leave the dock at 11 am and head for Beaver Isl. or Charlevoix. We shoved off at 1. Like always the wind was on our nose heading out of the bay. Charlevoix became the destination due to the time and wind direction. We got about 2 miles out, motoring, when the alarm went off and low oil light came on, SHIT!! I noticed a few days ago there was more oil in the bilge than normal, but I guessed it had dripped some over the last month of non use and just seemed like alot. Well, I shut it down and checked the oil, NOT even on the didpstick, SHIT!!! I got out the 3/4's of a quart I had left and dumped it in, still not on the dipstick. We altered course and sailed downwind on the headsail back to the marina and dropped the anchor just outside the entrance. I put the motor on the dingy, headed in and took the van up to the auto parts store, bought a case of oil and a roll of oil soaker cloth. 2 1/2 qts. later it was full.

I started her up, looked all over with the flashlight couldn't see anything leaking. Up came the anchor and we were off again, 3:30pm. Motoring straight into the wind this time to make some time on the 3 hour motor trip. It wasn't long (about 2 miles out again) and all of a sudden, a squeak squeak, squeak started. I jump down there, pull the cushion and cover off the motor compartment, grab the flashlight and start looking........
SHUT IT DOWN!!!! I spotted a stream of oil running out from someplace by the oil filter. Blew a gasket? or what? With it shut down I started to go for the filter, rubbed on the belt, real loose?????? I pushed on the belt and FLOP goes the alaternator into my hand. SHIT, SHIT, SHIT !!!

A broken alternator bracket AND bolt. both the upper and lower mounts were broken. The lower mount is part of the timing gear cover, the gear is showing and the upper bolt has about a 1/2" still in the enging block sticking out luckily.

I left it at that, put out the headsail and headed down wind again, sailed back to the entrance and dropped the hook again, devastated, after traveling 2200 miles, we breakdown at home. That is the real happy salvation though, it could have been much worse a situation for sure !!!

The beer slowly started soothing the agony of it all and lighting the spirit of the crew and I, as we ran through all the worse case senarios we could think of, how it could have been :)......mmmmmmmmmmmm beeeer :)

Our friends Ken and Jen (who we met here years ago through thier breakdown) came out and gave us tow back into the slip, we tied side by side and it went flawlessly.

As I write this the next morning (sat.) with a cup of coffee, trying to get in the right frame of mind to dive into the oily mess later today, it just amazes me how these things happen, fall into place, whatever.

Photos, video and all that will be comming soon.

Capt. Dean (feet arent so dirty today)

ps. Please keep your prayers with our friends Terry and Charlotte as Terrys Brother holds on to life a little longer. Damn tears are streaming again, sometimes they are happy tears and sometimes they are sad.
Another Angel will be traveling with them soon.

It is so good to see your smiling faces again. We miss you! Terry's brother passed away peacefully yesterday. Family is doing okay. Note to the wise, don't put off going to the doctors. Jim unfortunately waited too long. By the time he was diagnosed, the cancer had spread and weakened him too much to tolerate treatment. He was just 71 and a good guy. He will be missed. Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers.
T&C

07/09/2011 | s/v Zephyr

Yikes!!! So sorry to hear about your engine! We had a broken alternator brace when we first bought Zephyr, caused lots of problems. Finally had a new one fabricated out of stainless steel and haven't had any problems since...knock on wood. Good luck with the repairs. Glad you got back into your slip safely.
T&C

A great Fourth of July weekend

Capt. Dean07/07/2011, Little Traverse Bay, Lk. Mi.

Just a quick note to let you , Ya'll know we had a great 7 nights on the boat in Petoskey after 2 at the house. We are back at the house now for 3 nights, doing more projects, and finishing up others.

Heading back to the boat for a few days on friday. Heading for East Jordan probably.

I will post some more pics and stuff soon, the garden is just about worthy of some footage :)

Rubaiyat in the comfort of my friend Rick at the Boat Exchange...At Irish Boat Shop, ready to launch back into the sweetwater of Little Traverse Bay, Lake Michigan.

On Saturday, Chrissy and I motored her back over to Petoskey, put the sails back on, and then Sunday...................................................................................................this:

(written tuesday morning june 28th.)

We slept in our house last night :) for the first time in 350 days. What a feeling, pretty hard to describe that is for sure.

We are so thankfull that we have Mom living just another couple miles from us, and having a spare room, king size bed, overlooking the lake, and dinner at our finger tips, as well as a well stocked fridge :) get it? ;)
THANK YOU MOM!!!! it aint over yet !!

It is mostly all painted on the inside and put back together. It will take some living in, to get it all back in shape. Right now there is no TV or iinternet, the phone is working, the old land line number 231-347-4802 number is still ours.

We had a great sail on Sunday, no motor and full sails, it was awesome. David (nephew) and his girlfriend Jesse went with us, we sailed around the bay awhile and then went up into Harbor Springs and DROPPED THE ANCHOR for the first time (other than an emergency in the St. Clair River) and grilled some burgers.
We spent 2 nights aboard in Petoskey, it felt good to be back aboard Ruby. It was nice stayiing at Mom's condo on Crooked Lake for a couple weeks, but we did miss the boat alot.

So we will be staying home a couple nights getting ready to stay aboard for a few night over the 4th. of July weekend.

I have quite abit of the garden in, and plan to put in a few more things this week. I bought some fruit trees and grape vines to put in this year.

(written wed. night 7pm.)

What a nice way to spend the day yesterday, sitting in my recliner and watching some DVD'S, I went down and checked on the boat, adjusted the lines cuz it was blowing, raining, foggy, raining, nasty, and I was in long pants, my winter parka and the hood up running out the pier!!

When I got back home, I had 5 movies, a 30 pack and a wet ass!! I went to the wood pile, got a nice fire going, then the chair ......:) Movies on the flat screen are / were a thing of the past, strange huh? Drizzle and fog made it easy to just do NOTHING (around the house, that is).

Today I got back in the garden and got it up to speed. More to follow.

Now we are back on the boat, feeling like this is still our home, a wierd adjustment that I didn't expect.

ok.....typing drunk again, will get this posted and follow up .....................................................the adventure is not over :)

The haul out of the boat went very smooth, it is on the ground waiting for the semi.
It is in the same yard as the the big 48' sportfisher that went aground in the inlet awhile back.
They cut 4" holes in the bottom to flush out all the sand and water, what a sight. The props are curled right over, the shafts are bent and the struts are bent. You can see where they hit the bottom of the boat a few times. The sliding door and windows are all broken out of it.
I have some video I will get posted as soon as I get a chance.

We are back in Petoskey, been here a week now. We are staying at the condo on Crooked Lake with Mom, and it has been very nice, what a great view of the lake.
We have been working on and around the house everyday:
tilled the garden,
fixed broken fill valve in toilet,
found the broken fill valve in the dishwasher and got the part ordered,
replaced the kitchen fawcet,it was an old cheap one and the sprayer nozzle froze and broke,
got the car started after charging the battery,
the van started right up, the plow truck battery won't take a charge so it won't start,
the mower started after charging the battery, then chased around and got new blades for it, the grass was a mile high,
the weedey started and the leaf blower started,
the hot water heater won't light, ended up changing it completely, it was 17 years old,
the furnace worked fine. ugh.

Had Chrissy put together a work bee, pulled up carpet, cleaned living room, and bathroom so far, thanks Mark Lewils, Aunt Barb and Keeley.

Gottta get the hot water heater wired today if possible.

Hope to plant the garden tommarow (sun) then the boat should be here next week.